Naples Municipality Returns Maradona Statue, It's a Case

Football purists rejected her for that slight control of the ball with her right foot, a heresy for a natural left-footer like Maradona, but statue The bronze statue of the Pibe de Oro donated to the Municipality of Naples by the artist Domenico Sepe a year after the champion's death immediately took on a yellow hue.

Its display in front of the Distinti section of the then San Paolo stadium lasted a day: displayed in the morning, inaugurated in the afternoon in the presence of Manfredi and De Laurentiis, it was removed in the evening pending all the necessary permits. These permits never arrived. And a year and a half after the November 25, 2021, ceremony, after a "thorough investigation," the City Council's decision: the bronze statue of the Pibe de Oro is excessively valuable and is under investigation, therefore it must be returned to its donor.

An unexpected development, with the nearby municipality of Casalnuovo responding with a flourish: "If Naples doesn't want it, we'll buy it." The resolution of the Naples municipality dated February 16th explains that the basis for accepting the gift was the "modest value of the statue, approximately 30 euros."

But it has been determined that the donation is not of modest value, since the cost of the materials alone exceeds €30, and therefore the donation—under the Civil Code—is null and void. Furthermore, the Municipality itself clarified today that the U-turn is based not only on technical and administrative reasons, but also on "the results of several criminal investigations." This investigation concerns the process that, in 2019, led to the composition of the municipal commission that was supposed to select the project for the statue dedicated to Maradona.

The Naples Prosecutor's Office is investigating the presence of an ultra leader among the committee members and the alleged pressure to join. Artist Domenico Sepe is not implicated in the investigation, explaining: "If there are any shortcomings, they certainly do not concern me or my work." In the resolution revoking the statue's acceptance, the City Council also explained that the work, due to its value, "could expose the Administration to action for reduction and to an unquantified obligation to pay a fee."

Furthermore, the installation at the Maradona Stadium "seems capable of providing the donor with a significant benefit in terms of prestige and visibility," and this "may be attractive to other artists and therefore requires respect for the principle of impartiality and the use of public tender procedures," in short, a competition. These words did not please the artist: "I feel offended," he concludes, "as if I were the last one to arrive."

The dramatic turn of events came in the afternoon, from the nearby municipality of Casalnuovo. Mayor Massimo Pelliccia, "astonished" by the controversy, called Sepe and offered to buy it: "Napoli doesn't want it? We'll buy it." Maradona, the mayor explained, had a "special bond with Casalnuovo. He often came with the other Napoli player, Pietro Puzone, and the story goes that one night he started dribbling in the street. He opened several sports clubs and had friends here. In short, we have a bond with Maradona, and I'd love to buy his statue. We have a park named after Pino Daniele, the first statue of Totò, and we want one of Maradona too."